Nintendo Switch 2 Surpasses Wii U’s Lifetime Sales in Just 7 Months, Selling Over 17 Million Units

The Nintendo Switch 2 has already surpassed the total lifetime sales of the Wii U by the end of 2025.

Looking back, the Wii U stands out as a fascinating console. It served as a precursor to the Nintendo Switch, but aside from the Virtual Boy, it’s tough to find a system that faced more challenges for Nintendo. The game library was impressive, with nearly all titles eventually making their way to the Switch, but the name itself doomed it to failure. Ultimately, it became Nintendo’s second worst-selling console, managing only 13.56 million units over its four-year run.

So, it’s no shock that the Nintendo Switch 2, which has already claimed the title of the fastest-selling console in the company’s history, has officially outpaced the Wii U. According to Nintendo’s latest financial report, by December 31, 2025, the Switch 2 had sold 17.37 million units in just under seven months. However, it still has a long way to go to catch up to the Wii U’s impressive 130.60 million software sales, with the Switch 2 currently at 37.93 million games sold. The console’s strongest sales period was between September and December, where it moved over seven million units during the holiday rush.

The updated list of best-selling Switch 2 games shows Mario Kart World still reigning supreme. Pokémon Legends: Z-A launched with 3.89 million copies sold for its Nintendo Switch 2 Edition, while Kirby Air Riders performed well with 1.76 million copies sold, the majority of which came from Japan, totaling 900,000 copies.

Nintendo is achieving what ’90s Nintendo could only dream of – selling out of the Virtual Boy.